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As Luke slowly returned to consciousness, he discovered that he held a large, scaled paw that was wrapped around his chest. His fingers slowly feeling the scales, before he paused when he realized where he was. Opening his eyes quickly, he was greeted with an eerie pink world as the morning light diffused through the dragoness' outstretched wing. Blinking, he tried to focus and made out Teeba's head, her forelegs and tail, all sheltered by the wing she had extended over them like a blanket while she held him against her chest.

Turning his head to try and see how he could escape, he hesitated as she tensed slightly and pulled him tighter into the hug. Her whole body seemed to be coiled around him, with his ankles tucked between her thighs, her paw held him close to her front, and his head rested on her other forearm. He could see her eyes closed, nostrils slowly flaring with each deep breath she took and tried to stay still so as not to disturb her. As he studied her features, he was surprised at how peaceful and elegant she looked. Even though her mouth was full of sharp teeth and her body could easily rend him in twain, he found himself slowly relaxing in his friend's embrace.

His hand was still gently holding onto her paw and, as much as he knew he should move it away, he didn't want to risk waking her after the events of yesterday. Additionally, the way she held him close was very comforting and he couldn't even remember the last time he had been held like this. Even though the picnic blanket under them offered little support, her foreleg made for the perfect pillow and after four nights sleeping in his truck bed, it was heavenly.

His eyes widened as he shifted his hips slightly to get comfortable and felt the telltale friction in the front of his pants. His eyes flicked towards her face to make sure that she was still sleeping and he felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment. His heart began to beat faster, doing little to quell his morning wood and he wished for nothing else than to adjust his pants. Ever so slowly, he shifted his hand from her paw, tracing her scales slowly as he did so, until he broke contact with her and quickly moved his hand down to tug on the fly of his pants to try and relieve the tension. Plucking at the zipper, he felt some relief but knew he would need to distract himself to settle his erection before she woke up.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on the thought of her waking and teasing him for his situation. He could practically hear her giggles and imagine her horn-to-horn smile and, as if by magic, his cock began to soften. Relaxing slightly, he let go of his zipper and brought his hand up, surprising himself as he returned it to her paw. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt gnawing at his mind for having to leave her; it was his fault that she would receive strange looks from the townsfolk from now on. Likewise, the thought of the constant staring and hushed words he would experience if he stayed made his jaw clench. He could remember the ridicule that his classmate Jimmy had received when it was exposed that he preferred the company of dragons and while many years had passed, the thought of being subjected to the town's gossip made him feel sick. Given his family's history and the grief his ancestors had caused, he knew that there was never going to be any escape from their whispers, even if unfounded. Leaving was by far the best option for him, even if it meant not seeing Teeba again except online but felt guilty knowing that she would become the focus of the townfolk’s gossip alone..

A soft murmur from Teeba made him focus on her face, with her neck curled in a tight arc he could see her jaw softly moving as she dreamt. He didn't know a dragon could talk in their sleep, but found her soft mumbles endearing. Saying goodbye to her wouldn't be easy and he hoped she wouldn't make it difficult. She had looked so sad when he had told her he was leaving the day before, but he was glad they had hung out last night together before they returned to just being voices in each other’s headsets.

For a moment, Luke toyed with the idea of staying; her offer of staying in the house while she lived in the barn was tempting. He knew that even though they would sleep in separate areas, it would only fuel the rumors and lead to knowing smirks from the townsfolk. The rebel in him questioned whether he should care what the townsfolk thought; after all, he wasn't doing anything wrong. They were just friends that were different species living on the same farm. His stomach tightened as he imagined accidentally meeting his folks in town after yesterday's incident and how awkward it would be, yet another reason for the townsfolk to gossip. The more he thought about continuing to stay in Crestmead, the more he concluded that leaving was the simplest solution. She may be the focus of some rumors, but if he stayed, they would never escape the glances and hushed voices.

Watching her face while she slept, he was grateful that no one else could see them. The way she held him close to her chest with her thighs around his legs was incredibly intimate for Luke and while he assumed she hadn't meant to end up like this, he couldn't bring himself to wake her. He felt her paw around his chest pull him tighter before relaxing and he saw her eyes move under her closed eyelids as she inhaled deeply; the large dragoness was waking up and he slowly moved his hand off of her paw.

Her eyes scrunched up slightly before slowly opening and a thin, protective membrane slid back across her eye as she woke up and tried to focus on him. “Mmmgh, morning.” She murmured, before closing her eyes again and rocking her head slightly to get comfortable.

“Ah, morning.” Luke said awkwardly, her paw and thighs still holding him close to her body.

The paw on his chest kneaded his shirt before she frowned and opened her eyes again, her lips curling into a guilty smile as she realized how intimately she was holding him. “Sorry.” She mumbled when he didn't return her smile and relaxed her grip. “I usually hold a pillow; it helps me sleep.” She explained sleepily.

“I've slept in worse places.” Luke explained and tried to shift his legs only to find them still trapped.

She quickly moved her paw off of him and lifted a leg to free his. As she did so, she could see the conflicting emotions in Luke's face and realized he wasn't as against her embrace as she had assumed. Rolling onto his front she then retracted her wing to allow him to stand but instantly regretted it as the bright morning sun caused her head to throb in agony and pupils to narrow to slits. “Oh gods.” She groaned, extending her wing again just to cover her head while Luke stood up. “How much did I drink?”

Seeing the dragon hungover made him chuckle. While his own head hurt, he could tell that she had drunk a lot more by the pile of cans next to her. “I don't know, is that a lot for a dragon?” he asked, seeing her squint her eyes and gradually retract her wing again to focus on the world.

Seeing the aftermath of their evening, Teeba groaned. The memories of why they had drunk suddenly came back and left a bitter taste in her mouth. “Bleh, I feel like shit.” She said, rolling onto her front while keeping her head tilted down to try to avoid the sun's angry rays. “Never drinking again… ever.”

Luke smiled and patted her shoulder, standing next to her prone form. Her head was approximately at the same height as his. “I feel ya. But thanks for last night, it was nice to just hang out, but I should probably get-”

Teeba's eyes widened as she suddenly woke up further and turned her head to look at him. “You aren't still leaving, are you?” she asked, her stomach dropping when he nodded sadly. “Please, not just yet.” She begged.

Luke shook his head, but continued to hold a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I'm sorry. Look, I'm sure I'll come back, it's just for a while. Just until it all calms down here.” he said, knowing that it would take a miracle for the townsfolk to forget all about the incident.

“But how long will that take?” Teeba asked, her eyes flicking between his hand on her shoulder and his face. “You shouldn't have to leave because of something that didn't happen.”

Luke sighed and removed his hand from her side so he could pace and try to explain his situation. “It's not just the whole getting accused of sleeping with you thing. Even just being friends with you is going to make things weird. Does that make sense?” Luke said, seeing the confusion in her face. “Trust me, people here love their gossip and I don't want any part of it.”

Teeba slowly shook her head. “It's all bullshit though.” She murmured softly, her voice doing little to hide her sadness. Seeing him look away, she knew that if she tried to argue with him, she would risk pushing him away. “Can we at least have breakfast before you go?” she asked, seeing him smile slightly.

Looking at his watch, he knew that he had a long drive ahead of him and a good meal wouldn't hurt. “Okay, sure.” He replied and saw the sad look on her face fade. “What did you have in mind?”

“Tell you what, you go have a shower and I'll get something nice.” she said and gestured with her head towards the house. “The plumbing is apparently a bit shit, but the water gets warm eventually.” she explained. She had managed to squeeze herself through the door of the house when she had bought the property, but the main building had never been designed for dragons to enter.

Running his hand across his chin in contemplation, Luke could feel the stubble growing on his face and knew a good shower and shave would make him feel better. “Alright.” he said and gave her a weak smile. “Thanks.” He took a step back as she rose to her feet and heard the clatter of empty cans as her tail brushed against his pile from last night. “Oh, let me-”

“Nah, don't worry. I'll clean them up later.” she said with a wry smile and nodded towards her pile. “Besides, I made the mess, you go get cleaned up.” she added with another nod towards the house.

Luke walked towards his truck to collect his toiletries from a duffle bag behind the driver's seat, but when he opened the door to the truck, something felt off. He frowned as he gripped the handle and swung the driver's door back and forth slowly in confusion. While it opened fine, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was different. Seeing Teeba cock her head in confusion, he shrugged and reached in to collect his effects and a change of clothes, before he closed the old truck’s door with a firm swing.

---

Luke sighed and looked at himself in the mirror. Indeed, the hot water system for the house was barely functioning, but the cold shower had done wonders to wake him up. Now clean-shaven and with a fresh set of pants on, he began to clean his teeth to get rid of the furry taste left in his mouth from last night's drinks. Without a shirt on, he glanced at the tattoo under his arm and remembered the time spent with his unit. As he spat and rinsed his brush, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was again running away from a fight and leaving a dragon behind. His breath hitched at the memory of losing his squadmate and he quickly turned off the taps. The horrible shudder of pipes rattling inside the walls mirrored his own pent-up emotions, but he tossed his toothbrush back into his bag and focused on getting ready.

Stepping back outside, he smiled at the waiting dragoness, her eyes still half-lidded in a squint, but she now sat patiently with her harness on. “I was thinking we might check out the bakery?” she suggested and smiled when his steps slowed. “'Cos hey, if they are gonna gossip about us anyway, why not get a good meal out of it?”

“I don't know-”

“I also kinda ran out of food.” Teeba lied and shuffled her wings. “Besides, you probably have to drive through town to leave anyway, right?”

Luke was surprised that she wasn't nagging him to stay and took a deep breath before nodding. “Fuck it, why not. I'll meet you there?” With his bag in one hand, he walked to his truck and opened the door.

“Yeah, maybe the water tower. Like before?” Teeba said and watched as he sat down in the driver's seat and stuck the keys in the ignition. However, as he turned the keys, nothing happened but a faint click from deep inside the engine. “Problem?”

Luke adjusted the column shifter back and forth to ensure it was in park before trying again, only for the truck to only click and not start a second time. Turning the keys off and back on again, he noticed the lights on the dash stayed off and sighed, realizing now why the door felt strange earlier. “Battery is dead. I must have left the door open and killed it.” He said and looked to her to try and read her reaction.

“That will do that?” She asked in confusion. “How?”

Luke shook his head at her ignorance and reached under the dash to pop the hood. “Yeah, it keeps the interior lights on.” He explained and stepped out of the truck to lift the hood and inspect the engine. “Or it could just be a loose connection.” He added and smiled as she padded her way over to stand behind him and peer at what he was doing.

Teeba swallowed at the mess of cables, pipes, hoses, and machinery in front of her and sat down on her haunches. As she tried to trace one hose from one end of the engine bay to the other, she quickly lost track of it and became very confused at how it all worked. She had seen inside the Drag’n’Drop data center before but compared to the tidy cabling of a server rack, this seemed like an unorganised mess in comparison. “You know what you are doing?” She asked as he reached inside and began wiggling things around the engine.

“Yeah… sort of.” He chuckled and jumped when her head loomed into his peripheral vision, the curious dragoness amazed by the inner workings of his truck. Reaching to his belt, he produced a folded knife and flicked it open before he touched one end of the metal handle to one terminal and held the other close to the positive terminal of the battery. Gingerly, he moved the blade's tip closer until it touched and saw no sparks come from the connection. “Yup, battery is dead.” He announced and tapped the knife a few more times against the posts to be sure.

“Well, now you have to stay.” Teeba chuckled and retracted her head so he could step back and smiled guiltily when he shook his head in disbelief. “I'm kidding… But you totes could if you wanted to.”

“Teeba-”

“I know… so what now?” Teeba said and curled her tail around herself. “Is AAA a thing? Or is that just in the movies?”

"Out here, it's not." Luke said, folding his knife as he scanned her property. Growing up, there was always another car, an old ride-on lawnmower, or a tractor he could try to jump-start but, of course, she didn't have any such equipment. "Don't suppose you could fetch a new battery from town, could you?" he said, slipping the knife back onto his belt.

Teeba cocked her head, pondering for a moment before smiling. "I wouldn't know what to buy," she said, seeing his lips curl into a smirk. "I'd probably get the wrong one."

"I could call ahead, even pay by card." He explained, fully aware of her game.

"Yeah, but like…" Teeba trailed off, wracking her brain for further reasons why she couldn't help him leave. "Batteries and flying are kinda a bad mix, right?" she said with a knowing grin, acknowledging her flimsy excuse. "Like in the city, if you ordered something via Drag'n'Drop, the flyers had strict rules on what they could carry. No explosives, no fuels, no batteries. In case they dropped something on someone."

"I trust you-"

"I don't." Teeba countered with a giggle and an exaggerated shrug of her wings. "I've already caused enough drama in this town without dropping a car battery through someone's roof."

Luke could tell she was being stubborn and closed the door to his truck. "So, that's a no. Isn't it?"

"I mean…" Teeba hesitated before nodding. "I would if I could… but it's just irresponsible if I did," Teeba said, tucking her wings in defiantly against her body.

"Well, walking it is!" Luke announced, noticing her smile waver. "You can stay here if you want, or I can meet you in town."

"I'll come with you." She said optimistically, rising to all fours. "You can tell me about where you are going to be staying. That way, I can find you and pluck you from a field."

"Thanks." Luke said flatly, beginning the long march down her driveway. Her size allowed her to walk slowly beside him, but the sharp gravel clearly irritated her soft paw pads. Once they reached the road, he glanced at her and nodded back towards her home. "You really don't have to walk with me. It's gonna take a while and I won't leave town without my truck."

Teeba shrugged and continued walking. "I know, but I want to spend time with my friend. Even if it is their last day here." She said with a smile, fully aware of how she made him feel guilty.

"Roger that." Luke replied, settling in for the long march ahead.

---

“How can you just keep going?” Teeba complained, as she fell behind yet again to pick a stone out from between her paw pads. The grey dragoness was clearly unaccustomed to long marches, even though Luke had slowed his pace down for her.

“Boots?” Luke suggested and turned around to walk backwards while watching her catch up to him again.

Panting slightly as she trotted back to his side, Teeba tried to sound like she wasn't exhausted. “I get that, but walking… it's sooo slow! And this gravel is really loud.” She protested, her hangover returning in full force after walking beside the hot road under the unrelenting sun.

“You can fly on ahead if you want.” Luke suggested again. “I really don't mind, I'm kinda used to walking.” He explained and saw her unamused look. “It's good for the soul.” He added with a chuckle, repeating a remark his drill instructor had made while he was in basic training.

“I'll show you what's good for the soul.” Teeba grumbled, but continued to walk beside him. Turning her head to look behind them, she could still make out the old oak tree and was surprised at how little distance they had traveled. “This is going to take forever.” She complained and shuffled her wings when Luke glared at her. “Remind me to get more paw balm.”

“Didn't I give you back your tin?”

Teeba nodded. “Yup, but I think I'm going to need a whole new tin after today.” She explained and saw the look of concern in his eyes.

“Come on, this is silly. You have wings, fly ahead and I'll meet you there.” He said while marching on the shoulder of the road. “If I see a car, I'll try and hitch a ride with them.”

“Mmmk, I'll hang out with you until then.” Teeba compromised. “I like hanging out with you, Luke, you know that, right?”

Luke felt his cheeks redden as he thought about what she might be meaning. “Yeah, but something tells me this ain't your ideal date, is it?”

With a snort of amusement, Teeba slowed down so she could walk behind him and lower her head down to his height. “Oh? And you think this is a date, do you?” She asked and laughed when his pace quickened and cheeks burned red. “Oh, relax! I'm just pulling your tail.”

Luke chuckled nervously while she giggled and shook his head. “Me getting hot and sweaty, alone with a dragoness, are you sure this isn't your ideal date?” He asked and pushed her questing snout away playfully.

"Mmm, now you're talking," Teeba said in a mock sultry tone before laughing as he looked at her with a look of surprise. "Nah, Luke, you're a good friend, cute, kinda hot actually. But the last time I had a boy over, his folks went full psycho."

"Again, so sorry about that." Luke said with genuine remorse and was grateful when she shook her head and shrugged her wings to show she didn't blame him. "So you think I'm hot, do you?"

"Well… yeah!" Teeba answered with a small bounce in her step. "Fit dude like yourself, knows how to fix things, funny…" her words drifted off as she saw him shake his head again and look ahead. "And the fact that you ain't better than me at Riderfall is a big plus." She added and curled her neck into a proud arch while she looked down at him smugly.

"Oh my god, you are never gonna drop that, are you?" Luke said and looked up to see her comically shaking her head with a horn-to-horn grin. "Next time, you use keyboard and mouse, then we will see who is on top– I mean, better!" He quickly corrected as her eyes lit up.

"Oh, now that could be a part of a perfect date. Playing games to see who is on top!" She said while looking ahead with a dreamy expression.

Grateful that she wasn't complaining, Luke sighed and probed further. "Alright, so what else is on Teeba’s dream date, eh?" He asked and saw her jaw open slightly in disbelief. "Come on, it will pass the time. Let's say, a big handsome drake comes to the farm to take you somewhere, where do the two of you go?"

"Does it have to be a drake?" Teeba asked with a knowing smile. "Okay, fine, if it makes you feel more comfortable." She added before swaying her head from side to side in thought. "Honestly, I don't know. I'm not a big movie 'ness, I would rather pirate it and watch it at home." She explained and shrugged her wings. "I really don't know. I haven't really been on many dates, my luck with drakes is really fifty fifty."

"That's oddly specific." Luke stated flatly and looked up to her face to try and judge her reaction. Trying to think of an activity that a dragon could do on a date. "So if not movies, what about bowling?"

"Oh god no!" Teeba retorted loudly, her eyes going wide and looked down at the man who was shocked by her reaction. She shook her head feverishly and recoiled back as if she had tasted something foul. "Anything but bowling, eugh. Nope. Did it once, never again."

"That bad huh?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't mind bowling, I did it once between tours."

"Oh, I'm sure the bowling bit is fine, but my ex took me and, well… He was kinda a complete creep." Teeba said and saw the look of confusion in Luke's eyes. "Imagine this, him and a bunch of our work colleagues all lounging around while I bowled. I was so naive back then, I didn't know what was going on."

"I... I don't know what's going on." Luke said with a nervous chuckle. "How was that bad?"

"Have you seen a dragon bowl?"

"Yeah, you hold the ball in your mouth and bowl it, right?" Luke asked, still unsure what the big deal was. "I heard they clean the balls as well."

Teeba flicked her tongue out in disgust and nodded, "Oh gods, I forgot about that, bleh, the taste! Yes, I mean, they do wash the balls, but... here..." she said and looked over her shoulder to make sure that there were no trucks coming along the road. "Pretend this is the lane." She explained and used her head to nudge Luke into the road. "Now stay there, you can pretend to be my ex and his friends. I'll go to bowl." She said and found a large rock on the side of the road, using a paw she rolled it onto the road and moved so she was standing just ahead of him. With the rock between her forepaws, she looked over her shoulder at the man who was still very confused. "Watching?" She asked and, when he nodded, she lowered her head down and began to pick up the rock in her jaws. As her neck muscles tensed and weight shifted forwards, her tail reflexively lifted.

"Oh..." he said and tried to look away, only to find himself frozen in place. Thankfully, the rock was a lot lighter than an actual bowling ball, so her tail didn't lift far enough to reveal anything. With a swing of her neck, she tossed it back to the side of the road. "Now I see." He added and felt his cheeks burn.

"Yeah, and I was already a few drinks in and had no idea why they found a split so funny." She explained and padded her way back to the shoulder of the road to continue walking with him. "So, bowling is a hard no."

"Understandable." Luke agreed "So wait, you said that was in front of colleagues?" He asked and raised an eyebrow when she nodded. "Dating people in the workplace? Tsk tsk, Teeba."

"Oh shut up, I was young. He was handsome, confident, had a great smile and made me feel wanted." Teeba said before her whole body shuddered. "Then I learned he was a complete and utter dropped egg." she said and her lip twitched as a bad taste returned at the thought of the green drake.

Luke nodded sympathetically and saw her deep in thought. "So you dumped him, right?" He asked and saw her eyes focus and look back down at him. "I mean, he couldn't have dumped you, you're too pretty." he added with a friendly push on her shoulder.

“Oh yeah, I found out he was doing some pretty twisted shit at work and things got real messy, to the point that I had to leave.” She explained and saw him raise an eyebrow at her. “He was hurting other people and I threathened to report him to the authorities; The company wanted to avoid the lawsuits and I was paid to keep my mouth shut and walk away.”

“So, wait, that's where you got the money for your barn?” Luke asked and was confused when she shook her head.

“Not exactly, I used that money to make a company with friends. But that all went to shit too.”

“Running a business is hard isn't it, keeping it afloat is even-”

“Oh, it was doing well.” She said defensively before pausing to look down and sadly shake her head. “Maybe too good. We were forced to sell it because we made Drag'n'Drop salty. We got a decent payout but it wasn't a smooth transaction, turns out a company as powerful as them doesn't play fair and just after settlement, my home burned down.”

Luke's eyes widened in shock. “Wait! Are you saying that they tried to kill-”

“No.” Teeba said quickly and shook her head again to try and dismiss the idea. “No, I'm not saying that at all. It was a gas leak apparently.” She corrected and tried to smile, which did little to soothe his concern. “Insurance paid out without issue though, so that was nice.” She added to try and reassure him. “So, lil’ ol’ Teeba came out here for a quiet life. Although, it seems that drama keeps following me by the looks of it. Sorry, I'm rambling.” She said before looking back at him and remembering how they got to the subject of her past. "Where were we? That's right! You think I'm pretty." Teeba chuckled proudly to try and lighten the mood.

“Oh gods, not this again.” he said, as he rolled his eyes and took a few steps forward, only for her to catch up quickly. Clearly, her paws were not too sore for her to enjoy mocking him. “So, what was the name of this dickhead drake? The one who liked bowling.” he asked, trying to steer the subject away from his drunken observations.

“Jee- um… Sorry, I can't really say.” She said, thinking of the contract she had signed years ago. Even though they were alone and she trusted Luke, the consequences for being found to break her agreement would be severe.

“You can't say?” Luke asked with a puzzled expression. “Why-”

“I signed an NDA.” She said bluntly, a pained expression once again on her snout. “He cheated on me and hurt a lot of other people in the process, that’s all I am allowed to say.”

“Really?” Luke asked in confusion, he had heard of messy breakups, but never one with legal action.

“Yeah, He was a bit of a snake, a total liar.” Teeba said and could feel her heart rate increase at just the thought of the despicable green drake. “He claimed to be a veteran on some disability pay, but I think that was probably yet another lie. He had some medals, but wouldn't let me look too closely at them. Like, there isn't such a thing as a Ranger Seal is there? right?

Luke snorted in amusement and shook his head. “Nope! Not even… no, wow.” he remarked and saw her smiling. “Yeah, he sounds like a totally upstanding drake.”

“Yeah, I was glad to see the back of him.” She mused, before shrugging. “But the next one was a lot better. Even if I was a bit of a third wheel.” When she saw the look of confusion on his face, she gave a weak smile. “Oh, you wouldn't want to know. It was more of a friends with boyfriends and benefits sorta thing.”

Luke frowned as he tried to understand what she meant before looking back at her in shock. “Wait… so like multiple partners?”

“Oh, so you do want to know?” Teeba asked, now mostly back to her usually cheerful self, and gave him a playful nudge with her wing. “Long story short, I met a drake and his human boyfriend in a club. Geevin was open to anything and Ben was kinda curious. But we kinda became friends and they let me stay at their place while the insurance was dealing with my apartment and while I was finding a new place to live. Ben was the guy I talked to you about; with the bar? Remember?”

Luke was speechless and focused ahead while walking. He knew that she had been with a human, but to be with both a human and his partner was a wild concept to him. Yet, the way that she was so casual about the situation made him start to realize how sheltered he was.

Teeba could see the man was deep in thought and smiled to herself as she continued. “I think Geevin was probably more Bi than Ben was, to be honest, but I didn't mind. Ben was still super sweet in bed and Geevin sure wasn't complaining.” She added and gleefully watched as Luke's face became redder. “But enough about me! What about little Luke, what is his dream date?”

“Oh, we are not doing this.”

"Sure, we are!" Teeba giggled. "Come on, what is Luke's dream date? Surely you have one." Seeing the man shake his head and continue marching, she smiled. "Okay, I'll make one up. Luke comes to her place to pick her up in his truck; he has polished it just for tonight." She started and saw the corner of his lips pull into a smirk. "She is a woman, with two straight legs and shoes that are horrible for walking. Where do you go?"

"You're ridiculous." Luke said with a smirk, but when he saw her broad smile and expectant look on her snout, he knew he wouldn’t be let off the hook. "I ain't one for fancy stuff, maybe a nice meal under the stars-"

"Ooo, yes!" Teeba exclaimed. "Like, in a field? With hay bales?"

Luke rolled his eyes and nodded. She let out a little squeal that was unbecoming of someone her size. "You approve?"

Teeba nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes, super romantic. Maybe like a little fire or something, or just moonlight, oh and chocolate!" She said dreamily as she imagined the scene. However, her dream shattered as she stepped on a sharp rock and stumbled forwards on three legs.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked and stopped to see her with one forepaw held in the air and her long neck curled tightly so she could check its underside.

Wiggling her toes, she inspected the pads before giving it a quick lick to be sure. The dusty taste of the road made her lips twitch in disgust, but she looked at her paw closely to see if she was bleeding. "Yeah, I'm okay." She said, before lowering her paw to the ground and putting weight on it slowly. "How much further?"

Luke looked further up the road and knew that they were not even halfway there yet. "Still a long way to go. Please, go on ahead, I'll meet you there." He said and watched as she looked on ahead in contemplation.

"It’s fine-"

"No, it's not. I don't want you cutting a paw up over me. Okay?" Luke said and patted her shoulder. "Go on, I'll be fine."

Teeba rocked her head from side to side in thought, before taking a deep breath. "Fuck it." She muttered and lowered herself down to the hot asphalt road. "Come on, get on. Let's just do this."

Luke's eyes widened at her proposal and he quickly shook his head. "Ah no. I’m flattered, but no." The thought of riding into town on the back of a dragon was sending shivers down his back. "Just fly on ahead, or hell, you can pick up the battery and I'll meet you back at the house."

"What? Scared I would drop you?" Teeba asked with a smirk. "I won't, I promise." she said and could tell he was still not convinced. "I ain't picking up your battery, so come on, up you pop." She added with a small nod towards her shoulders.

"Nah, I'm good." He said flatly and continued to walk. "Just fly on ahead, I'll be there before you know it." He called back over his shoulder to the prone dragoness.

Teeba watched him continue to walk away, before she rose to her feet again and trotted to catch up and pass him, turning then, to lay prone ahead of him. "Stop being stubborn and get on. You're not afraid of heights or something, are you?"

Luke shook his head with an unimpressed expression, but as he stepped onto the road to walk around her, she shuffled backward and intercepted him with her strong tail. "Teeba, come on. I don't want to be seen riding a dragon into town, not after everything that's been going on."

"Oh, relax. I can land out of sight. Trust me, it will be just like Riderfall, but without the fall bit." She explained and pouted when he firmly held her tail down and swung his legs over it to continue walking. "Fine! I'll fly to town then." She said loudly, as he walked away from her.

Luke held a thumbs up above his head for her to see and continued his march into town. While he felt bad for pushing her away, he didn't want to see her hurt a paw because of him. Likewise, riding atop a dragon was definitely something that he didn't want to be seen doing. With the gesture usually only given to their loved ones or close friends by dragons, it would be harder to deny that they were together if he was seen on her back.

He heard the swoosh of air as she took to the sky and smiled, knowing that he had won their game of stubborness, only for his smile to vanish as a shadow swept over him. Touching down on only her hind legs behind him, she wrapped her forepaws under his arms and around his chest before kicking off and flapping her wings hard. Luke clenched his jaw and his hands around her paws, as the ground suddenly fell away from him. "For fuck's sake… TEEBA!" he shouted, as he was pulled close to her chest and her wings beat hard to keep them airborne.

"Hey, you told me to fly to town." She retorted with a playful smile, her chest muscles tensing and bulging as they pulled her outstretched wings down again and again in labored wing beats.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Luke begged as he saw the height they had climbed to, the road below becoming little more than a black line between the green fields. The rhythm of her wing beats jostled him in her grip, and he held onto her tighter.

"OKAY! I WILL!" Teeba replied and stretched her wings out wide to settle into a glide. "Just outside town." She added with a grin and curled her neck, to look at the pale-faced man in her grip.

"Teeba! This ain't funny!" Luke exclaimed and adjusted his grip on her paws. With his legs dangling helplessly in the wind, he was completely at her mercy.

With a wide grin, she looked at the man and cocked her head. "Nah. It's kinda funny." She giggled. With her paws wrapped under his arms, there was no way he could slip out unless she deliberately let go of him. She felt him tense, as she beat her wings a few more times and adjusted their trajectory to head toward the town center.

The wind howled in Luke's ears as they flew and he began to accept defeat, forcing himself to take deep breaths. He tried to imagine he was in jump school and it was simply a large parachute above him, just a large, living parachute that had a twisted sense of humor…

Hills passed under them quickly and when he made out the town's water tower, he began to realize just how long it would have taken to walk, let alone walk back while carrying a battery. “I ain't paying for breakfast.” He said and felt her chest vibrate in a giggle.

“I told you I would pay.” Teeba called back. Her forearms were starting to get tired, but she knew that they would make it to town with ease. “You're doing good!” She said and turned her neck so she could look back at him with a smile. “When Geevin took Ben for a ride, he apparently screamed at first.”

Luke shook his head at her joyous expression. “I can't imagine why.” He said flatly, as his feet dangled uselessly under them.

---

True to her word, she approached the town from behind the buildings, and kept low to the treetops, to try to stay out of sight from the townsfolk. Behind the general store was a collection of large trash cans, where the staff parked their cars. With a quick adjustment of her wings, Teeba slowed for a landing.

Luke's legs felt wobbly under him as she touched down on her hind legs, keeping her wings outstretched for balance. She waited until he was able to stand on his own, before letting go of him. Stepping aside, he gave her room to transition to standing on all fours and watched as she folded her wings against her body. "Never do that again. Okay?" He said firmly, his stern expression becoming difficult to hold as she grinned mischievously.

"Sure, buddy." She said in the most unconvincing voice. "Although, once you leave, I won't get a chance to, will I?" She asked and shuffled her wings. After the flight with him awkwardly under her chest, her muscles now felt sore.

"Even still, it's not cool to pick people up like that." Luke chastised, only for her to shrug.

"I would have been happy to carry you properly." She said matter-of-factly, "You were just being stubborn."

"I was being stubborn?" Luke retorted defensively. "I was happy walking."

"Yeah, well… I wasn't." Teeba chuckled. "Come on, I'm hungry, let's get some food."

Luke knew it wasn't worth arguing with a hungry dragon and nodded. “And a battery for the truck.” he added and walked beside her around the store towards the main road.

Teeba shrugged. “Like, if we have time, sure.” She said and smiled when he caught her wing as she went to nudge him with it.

Walking on the footpath down the main street, Luke couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the few dragons in town that were waiting outside the stores seemed to look at him strangely as he walked beside Teeba. He felt his chest tighten and was beginning to regret coming to the town with the dragoness, but tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, he would be leaving and then they could think what they wanted.

As they approached the bakery, he felt a buzzing in his pocket and retrieved his phone to see a notification from an old group chat and saw a wall of text from one of his old squadmates. “Oooh, this smells nice.” Teeba remarked, shaking Luke from his thoughts and he slipped the phone away, promising himself to read it later.

Joined with the buildings next to it, the bakery had been remodeled after the owner had read an article written about a dragon friendly cafe in the city. The column had highlighted the benefits of selling to both humans and dragons and the bakery’s owner had taken inspiration from their design to adjust his own store to allow dragons to approach the counter and select items themselves. Glass cabinets displayed all of the delightful treats at an angle, so that they could be easily seen by both dragons and humans and warm lights cast the bakery in a homely glow.

He smiled and stood back as Teeba trotted happily into the store and began looking into the display cabinets, her eyes darting from pastry to pastry while a faded blue colored dragoness finished her order. As soon as Luke recognized the dragoness, he wished he was elsewhere. “OH MAH WORD! You're alive.” the dragoness remarked loudly, her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and joy.

Teeba's head whipped up and looked at the dragoness before smiling. “Oh! Hello, Liirahn, right?” She asked, trying to remember the name of the older dragoness.

“I knew that Daarneh was full of gryphon shit. She told me that ol’ man Clipper did a number on ya.” Liirahn explained, while looking Teeba up and down for any signs of injury.

“He got close.” Luke muttered under his breath and swallowed when the old dragoness's head snapped in his direction. After countless times of having to raise his voice to be heard by the old ‘ness in the past, he was surprised to see that suddenly she could hear him just fine.

“Oh my word, you're here too? Wait! You two ARE together!” Liirahn asked and her head snapped between the two of them faster than seemed possible for the old dragoness.

Teeba giggled and shrugged, which only fueled the old dragoness' excitement until Luke cleared his throat and spoke up. "We are just getting some breakfast and some parts for my truck. Just friends, hanging out." he clarified and saw Teeba shrug again with a smirk.

"Oh... I see." Liirahn said and looked back to see Teeba's grin widen. "Just friends having breakfast. Isn't that sweet." The old dragoness added with a twinkle in her eye and a subtle glance to Luke.

His chest tightened at her remarks, knowing full well that this is what he would be subjected to if he stayed. Already he could tell that Liirahn was just itching to tell her friends about seeing them together and knew that by the time he had finished breakfast, most of the town would already have assumptions over them being together.

As the human behind the counter slid a bag of baked goods across the counter to the dragoness, Liirahn nodded politely and began hooking her purchases to her harness. Her old arthritic paws trembled slightly as she struggled with the straps and she sighed in relief when Teeba stepped forward and sat down on her haunches to help the old 'ness. "Oh thank you darling, these old paws just ain't what they used to be." She said and glanced at Luke, before smiling at Teeba as she finished. "I am so glad that you are alright honey, any 'ness that can befriend a Clipper is alright in my books." She said warmly and stood up to leave. "And it's good to see that the apple fell far from the tree with you, Luke." She remarked and gave a small nod towards Teeba. "A pretty 'ness ain't come through these parts often, so you take good care of her—"

"We are really just friends." Luke affirmed, as his cheeks burned in embarrassment. Being complimented by the old dragoness made him feel strange, he had expected to be mocked or teased for his “change of heart”, but her words surprised him.

"Of course, of course. That's what I meant." Liirahn said with a wry smile. "Even still, a Clipper that is friends with a dragon. It's an absolute delight! Your old man probably won't understand, but he is a bitter and twisted old prune, so it's good to see that you ain't walking his path." She said and shuffled her wings to get ready for the flight ahead of her. "I'm making some of my famous triple meat meatloaf this afternoon, where are you staying? I take it you're not still with the old man."

Teeba looked on and saw Luke nervously scratch his arm and smiled when he didn't explain that he was leaving; clearly, there was still hope that she could try and change his mind. "Um, just drop it around to my place, I'll make sure it gets to him." Teeba piped up.

"Consider it my welcome present to you as well then, Teeba." She said and bid them farewell. As she left, she couldn't help but steal a glance back towards the pair and smile warmly before trotting off down the street with a renewed spring in her step.

Teeba saw Luke look at her with a small smile, clearly expecting her to remark about things not being as bad as they could be. "I ain't saying nothing!" She giggled, turned to look into the pastries cabinet again, and selected a few tasty treats she wanted.

Luke looked back out of the store, as he thought about what had just happened. While he had no doubt that Liirahn would spread falsehoods about him and Teeba, it was nice to know that he wasn't ridiculed or laughed at for going against his family's values.

“Luke, what do you want?” Teeba asked and saw him shake his head to clear his thoughts, after which he quickly approached the display case.

“Ah, one of those wraps would be good and maybe a bottle of water for the walk back.” He said and heard her chuckle in amusement. As Teeba paid for their purchases, the baker slid the bag of food and drinks across the counter toward Luke who thanked him.

---

"So, I'm pretty sure Liirahn thinks we're a couple." Teeba said while finishing off the last of the many pastries she had bought. "How did she know about your parents and me though?"

Luke took a small sip from his water bottle and shrugged. "It's a small town. My mother probably told one of her friends, they told theirs and eventually Liirahn finds out." He explained and saw her nod in contemplation. "See what I mean now? I bet by the end of the day, everyone will think we came here on a date or something."

"Eh, it's not dinner under the stars, but I've had worse dates," Teeba chuckled and rolled further onto her side to relax in the shade of the water tower. "Oh shh, I'm just kidding," Teeba added when she saw him open his mouth to protest. "I just think it's silly to leave. Like sure, the townsfolk are going to be a bit curious for a while, but that's surely gonna die down, right?"

"Teeba-"

"I'm just saying, you've got your job here, you know the customers and the people. Starting over just because some people think you hooked up with a dragon is a bit silly." Teeba hastily explained.

"You think I'm overreacting? Don't you?" Luke asked as he loudly scrunched up the paper bag his wrap had been served in.

She could tell that she was pushing him too hard and was at risk of shutting him out, so she shrugged. "I mean, Liirahn said she was gonna bring you some meatloaf. Seems like a good reason to stay." She said weakly, while fidgeting with the plastic bag, slowly pushing a talon through the material in a chaotic pattern.

Luke took a deep breath and looked down the main street at the patrons milling about. Even though they were partially obscured by the garden beds, he could still make out the sly glances from the townsfolk and imagined their hushed whispers. "I don't really like meatloaf-"

"Liar." said Teeba flatly. "Everyone likes meatloaf, you just haven't had a good one." She added and looked at him with her big amethyst eyes. "Come on, just stay. I would feel horrible if you left because of me."

"It's not you though." Luke quickly corrected. "It's not, it's my folks, my family's history. Teeba, I ain't trying to get away from you, please, I want you to understand that." He said and felt his stomach drop when she just looked away and said nothing. "Look, I remember the hard time Jimmy had when he was found out. Hell, I was one of the dickheads that bullied him."

"But you're not being found out. You didn't do anything." Teeba protested, but when he held up a hand to dismiss her rebuttal, she snorted and knew it wouldn't matter. With a sigh, she reluctantly nodded, "You know they are gonna talk about you if you leave though, right?" she asked and saw him nod softly. "Despite what you think, they ain't exactly running you out of town with pitchforks. Like, your folks probably want to disown you, but I don't think the whole town wants to. Heck, I think Liirahn would adopt you if you gave her a hug."

That brought a smile to Luke's mouth and he chuckled along with Teeba before shrugging. "Well, the old bird probably ain't got long left in her." he said, as if contemplating the idea. "Could be a good way to inherit a house." He added, and his smile widened as Teeba laughed louder.

Teeba wiped a tear from her eye with her wing knuckle and smiled. "What about your folks' place? Reckon they will write you out of the will?"

"A hundred percent." He said and looked away. "But I'll keep paying for it, unless one of my cousins wants to take over. I assume it will go to them when my folks kick the bucket."

"Even after everything they've done, you still want to pay their mortgage?" Teeba asked in disbelief and curled her tail around her body.

Luke shrugged. "It's the right thing to do, isn't it? They can't work after all."

"I guess, but you're a better egg than I am." Teeba said and cocked her head. "Like, I get along with my folks, but if they tried to kill you, I don't think I would help them pay the bills." She added, before smirking.

However, her small smile didn't go unnoticed by the man, who looked up at her in confusion. "What? What's so funny?"

Teeba's smirk turned into a grin, and she shrugged. "Just thinking how lawful good you’re being… Sir Raider."

"You are such a nerd." Luke said flatly before returning her smile. "It's just called being the bigger man. Nothing righteous about it. My folks are old and it ain't worth losing the family home over all this."

"Bigger man." Teeba said, rolling the phrase around her mouth before tilting her head to look down at him. "Bigger men don't run away… just saying, this town is gonna be a lot shittier without you."

“You really don't want me to go, do you?”

“No! Heck no! You are a good dude and my only friend in this town. Even if your folks are complete crack-eggs.” Teeba explained loudly.

“Look, I'm sorry. I'll be back once this all calms down, but this town just ain't for me right now.” he said firmly, despite how much her crestfallen look hurt him.

Taking a deep breath, Teeba looked towards the main street and could see a few humans and dragons watching them before quickly turning away and returning to their business. “Fine.” she said sadly. “Can't say I didn't try. Want to get your battery?”

Luke slowly stood up and rested a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. “Thanks for understanding, Teeba.”

“I really don't.” Teeba retorted and stood up. “But I'm not going to force you to stay.” She said and as they began to walk back to the center of town, she lowered her head and tried to lighten the mood. “This dragon doesn't kidnap princesses.”

---

"That looks heavy." Teeba remarked, offering no assistance to carry the heavy battery.

Luke nodded, leaning heavily to one side as he walked. "Yeah, a bit." He replied with a strained voice, knowing he had a long walk ahead of him.

"So, are you going to be difficult, or get on my back this time?" Teeba said, skipping ahead of him with an exaggerated, luxurious stride to emphasize how unburdened she was.

Switching hands, he flexed his fingers to try and get the blood to circulate through the stiff appendage again. "What do you mean? I thought you said you can't fly with a battery." He said, raising an eyebrow at her proposal.

"Totally, I wouldn't trust myself carrying it. But a big, strong Marine could keep me safe." she said, lowering herself down in front of him. The pair were only just outside the town and were still very visible to other patrons.

"That’s convenient." He said flatly, looking back at the town. Remembering how long it would have taken to walk from her farm to town, he knew that carrying the battery back there wouldn't be a small feat. A part of him wondered if he could find someone in town to give him a ride.

"What can I say, dragons are not lazy, stubborn creatures. We can be convenient too. I thought you were starting to learn that… Tail chaser." She joked, relieved when he smiled and put the battery down. "Besides, either you get on, or I’ll just pluck you from the road again. Though… I may let you walk a while, just so you can appreciate what I'm doing more."

Luke ran his hand through his hair, he could already feel the dampness of sweat from the midday sun and sighed. “I really don't have a say in this, do I?”

Teeba grinned cheekily and shrugged her wings. “Of course you do, you can get on my shoulders and let me fly you back. Or you can stay in this town for a bit longer. What's it gonna be?” She asked and pulled her wings back to give him more room to mount her.

Luke looked at her shoulders and could already feel his heart beating faster at the idea, trusting her to carry him made him uneasy. “Your harness doesn't have a saddle.” He stated, but knew his excuse was a weak one.

“Oh relax, it's just a short flight. Besides, your fun bits aren't getting used any time soon.” She said with a playful smirk.

Luke's cheeks burned and retorted louder than he expected. “That's not what I meant-”

“It's what I meant though.” Teeba interrupted with a giggle. “Come on princess, if you are leaving anyway, you can't care what people will think and the sooner you get back to mine, the sooner you can be on your way. Just let me help you, okay?” She explained, before curling her tail around behind him to nudge him closer to her shoulders. “Or, I'll fly home and break your truck. It needs all its wheels to work, right?”

“You wouldn't.” Luke said and shook his head when she shrugged her wings. He was confident that she wouldn't, but the temptation of not having to carry the battery for the full walk back made him reluctantly agree. “Fine, you win.” He said. Looking over his shoulder, he could see a few of the town's folk and knew that they would see them. “But can we do it discreetly?” he asked and nodded towards a row of scraggly bushes that would obscure them.

“Taking a ‘ness behind the bushes, eh?” She giggled and stood up. “Get your battery then.” She said and began to walk towards where he had gestured. “You know, most humans get really excited at the chance to ride a dragon. You're kind of letting down the team.”

Luke grunted as he lifted the battery and followed behind her. “Are they the same humans that like to fuck them too?”

Teeba snorted and nodded. “There may be an overlap on that Venn diagram.” She giggled before trotting behind the bushes and laying down, so he could climb onto her shoulders easier.

Luke looked around to ensure that no one could see them and approached her side. He heard the acid slosh inside the battery as he lifted it up with both hands for her to hold onto with her jaws. Hooking a hand under the expensive-looking harness, he did a small hop and pulled himself up onto her back before he swung a leg over to the sit upright on her shoulders. Despite being visibly thinner than most dragons in town, he was still surprised at how thick her neck felt between his thighs. “Just take it easy okay?” He said and took the battery from her to rest it in his lap.

“This really is your first time, isn't it?” She said with a hint of a smirk.

“Hah…hah.” Luke said sarcastically and shook his head. “I've been carried by a dragon before… just, not on their shoulders.”

“Don't worry, I’ll be gentle. This is all about you… big man.” She said in a sultry tone, before giggling and, as she lifted her front and stood up to all fours, felt him hunch forward to keep his balance. “Just hold on and try not to vomit, okay?”

He nodded and could feel her shoulders shift under him as her wing arms extended and her body tensed. Leaning further forwards, he held the battery close to his body and kept a firm grip on her harness as she reared up on her hind legs and launched into the sky. After the sudden surge forwards, his stomach lurched as they fell briefly, before her wings flapped and lifted them higher. Despite focusing intently on the scales on the back of her neck, he couldn't help but notice how the membranes of her wings stretched to catch the air with every flap and before he knew it, they were climbing quickly into the heavens.

Once at a safe height, her rate of climb slowed down and she stretched her wings wide to settle into a lazy glide. “Can I get you to sit up straight?” She asked over her shoulder and watched as he cautiously relaxed his posture, while still holding tightly to her harness. “Thanks. It's weird flying with a weight ahead of my wings.” She added and looked ahead.

With the wind in his hair and the base of her neck between his thighs, he was aware that he was completely at her mercy, yet, as she drifted from thermal to thermal, he was amazed at how smooth their flight was. Lacking the constant vibration of engines or the repeated thumps of rotor blades, flying atop a dragon felt almost surreal or magical, as if the laws of physics didn't apply to them and they could go where they pleased. He could see her farm in the distance, but noticed that she spent much of her time gliding from thermal to thermal to rise up higher. He wasn't sure if it was because her wings were tired or if she was trying to prolong their flight, but either way he couldn't bring himself to complain. “Okay, this ain't too bad.”

“See! I told you it was better than walking home.” Teeba said and looked back at him with a smile. “But just remember, I offered this and you were being a little bitch about it.”

Luke chuckled and took a deep breath of the fresh country air. While the air was cool, the sun warmed the back of his neck and slowly he relaxed his grip on her harness. “Mind if I take a photo?”

Teeba gently shook her head and smiled back at him. “Oh, and I thought you didn't want any part of this place.” She teased and watched him retrieve his phone from his pocket.

“It's just not every day you get to ride a dragon. Hell, it's probably been a few generations since any of my family has, except during war or something.” Luke explained and frowned at his phone, the group chat of his old squadmates was ablaze with back and forth conversations.

Dismissing the chat, he opened the camera app and took a series of photos to capture the landscape. As he reviewed the photos, he saw her smiling back at him and chuckled. Surprising her, he twisted around as far as he could and tried to line up a selfie with both of them looking at the camera.

“That actually came out alright.” He said and returned to facing ahead, only for a flurry of notifications to appear on his phone. Clearly, phone reception was stronger due to being above the hills and he looked ahead to see that they still had a fair way to go. Opening the messaging app, he saw that his name had been mentioned a few times and quickly scrolled up the conversation to see what all the fuss was about. While the chat included a healthy collection of memes and banter, he saw that the conversation had started with them agreeing to meet. His old squad was back in the country and had organized a meeting at his squadmate’s family home, as that was easiest for people to get to and Luke was meant to be staying there already. His lips pulled into a nostalgic smile at the thought of catching up with his old unit. Scrolling through the conversation, even one of the dragons he had served with was keen to come and get away from ‘boring civilian life’ as he put it, which had then sparked a conversation that teased Luke for enjoying the boring civilian life. Shaking his head, he swiped across the remark from his squadmate and replied to it with the selfie of him and Teeba.

“Super boring civilian life.” Luke captioned the message and smiled as there was a pause in the conversation. He imagined them all staring dumbfoundedly at the picture.

“Nice Photoshop.” replied one of them, before the rest sent a flurry of emojis until the dragon of their unit replied. “I think it's legit. Cute ‘ness, Raider. Is she staying with you? It would be nice to not be the only dragon at the meetup.”

Luke swallowed and regretted sending the message, as now he wouldn't be able to escape the questions if he attended the meetup and there was no way he couldn't attend, given that it was being hosted at the place he was going to be staying at. “Maybe.” He typed and hit send, before he looked up to see Teeba smiling back at him.

“Kids and their phones. Anything important?” She asked and watched him slip his phone back into his pocket.

“Just some old friends of mine getting together.” He explained and saw that they were approaching her farm. “Thanks for flying me back. It really wasn't what I expected.”

“Eh, this is hardly flying.” She said with a playful smirk and felt him hold onto her harness as she beat her wings to gain some altitude. “Want to try actual flying?”

Luke leaned forwards as she climbed and held on tighter with his legs. “Um… no, I'm good.” He exclaimed loudly to be heard over the wind. Even though they were climbing, her speed increased with every wingbeat.

“Do you trust me?” She asked and looked back to see his pale face and wide eyes.

"No?" Luke said with a nervous laugh, as he looked down over his shoulder at the fields that were continuing to shrink. "You plucked me before, remember?"

"Oh, get over it. You were being stubborn, and I was hungry." Teeba retorted with a grin, rocking her shoulders to unsettle him. "Just trust me."

Luke tried to move his hips with her movements to stay balanced and hunched over the heavy battery in his lap. "In that case, of course, I trust you. You are the most trustworthy dragon in the world. You're pretty, smart and amazing. Now, can you please just fly normally?" He begged, gripping the leading edge of her harness with one hand.

"Glad you think so!" She said and beat her wings hard to surge upwards before folding them tight against her sides. "Prepare for Riderfall!" She announced loudly with a smile, feeling their speed diminish until they stalled.

"FUUUCKS SAAAKE!" He screamed as they became weightless and began falling back to earth. With a flick of her tail, she rotated so she was diving headfirst with him desperately clinging to her back. The wind tore at his clothes and deafened him as it rushed past his ears. A part of him wanted to close his eyes and beg for mercy, while the adrenaline flooded his body and forced him to watch the ground come closer and closer.

Looking back and laughing at the terrified human, Teeba slowly opened her wings and redirected their speed into a wide spiral around the farm. "Now you can say you have flown with a dragon." she giggled as their speed washed off, adjusting her wings to glide as long as possible.

Luke shook his head and straightened up on her shoulders. While he had been airborne with a dragon once before today, he didn't want to bring it up and ruin the moment with painful memories. "Do they ever teach dragons not to terrify humans? Like at school or something?" He asked, trying to control his racing heart.

"I think I skipped that class." Teeba retorted happily. "But you didn't throw up! Congrats!" She giggled, subtly beating her wings to maintain their altitude, knowing that once she touched down, her friend would eventually be leaving her.

"Thanks." Luke said. Seeing her wings catch more air and their descent slowly halt, he patted the side of her neck softly, his gentle touch made her look back and he saw a hint of sadness in her deep, amethyst eyes. With the silent exchange, she nodded and adjusted her wings to descend while circling the house.

With her wings extended, she glided slowly under the canopy of the old oak tree and landed with a trot, before stopping on the gravel driveway next to his truck. Folding her wings to her sides, she lowered herself down and kept her neck extended forwards so he could swing a leg over and slide down her shoulder with his battery in hand. As his feet landed on the loose gravel, he stumbled and she quickly pulled him close with her wing wrist to steady him. "I've got you." She said softly, waiting for him to stand up properly.

"Thanks." he said and took a few gingerly steps. After squeezing her neck for so long with his thighs, his legs felt strange, however after a few more tentative steps, he made his way back to his truck and placed the battery on the already scratched front fender.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Soda? Tea?" She asked hopefully, but could tell that he saw through her attempt at prolonging his stay.

"I think we have made enough tea already, haven't we?" Luke said weakly and saw a brief smile of understanding pull at her snout. "Thanks, but I should really get going. It's a long drive ahead."

Teeba nodded and watched silently, as he began finding tools in the back of the truck and went about swapping the batteries. Her heart sank as all of the tools he found were correct and the new battery fit perfectly into the slot where the old one was pulled from. He could feel her eyes watching him and found himself averting his gaze as he opened the driver's door and keyed the ignition. As if nothing had ever been wrong in the first place, the truck roared to life and rumbled happily at idle, while he checked the gauges to make sure nothing else needed attention.

"You did it." She said with a weak smile, while sitting on her haunches with her wings folded tight and her tail curled around her feet. "So that's it?"

Luke stepped out of the truck and nodded before closing the hood. "That's it. All done." He said simply, but could tell she wasn't happy. "Thanks though, for everything."

"It was just a flight." She said and scratched one of her front legs with the other.

"No, not just that, I mean for everything. I'm just sorry it ended like this." Luke said and saw her claws clench in a mixture of frustration and sadness. "Hey, so once I get settled in, maybe you could come visit or something? Would that be cool?"

Teeba sniffed softly and nodded. "Yeah that's cool, I would like that." She said softly before swiping a paw around his waist and pulling him forcefully into a hug. His hands instinctively wrapped around her shoulders in surprise as she held him tight against her. "Oh shh, no one can see you. You saved my life yesterday… and it's not like I'll get to do this for a while." She said, while closing her glossy eyes and enjoying the friendly embrace. Luke could feel her warmth and hear her breathing as he leaned into the hug and held her, knowing full well that his absence would hurt her.

"You're a good friend, T." He said warmly and patted her neck for her to let him go, only for her to continue to hold him close. "And I'll be online as soon as I'm set up again." He promised, but felt her toe beans massage his back. "Try not to get too far into the battle pass without me." He added and felt her inhale sharply with a small laugh.

"I don't know. If I'm not carrying you, I may make some actual progress for once." She sniffed and let go of her friend. "Tell me when you arrive, so I know you haven't crashed or anything."

Luke nodded and couldn't bring himself to look at her, knowing that her beautiful eyes would be glossy and wet. He wasn't sure if he would have the heart to leave if he saw her like that. Clearing his throat, he gave a nod in farewell and stepped back into his truck. Holding his foot on the brake pedal, he pulled down on the column shifter with his right hand and looked at the dragoness through his window. She looked so alone with the large house behind her and as she shuffled her wings, he could tell she was on the verge of tears. The guilt of leaving her at the mercy of the towsnsfolk’s comments and whispers, as well as what he now knew of her past, weighed heavily on him as he released the brakes and drove forward to circle the large oak tree. In doing so, he passed the old pull-behind mower and the large house that she had so graciously offered for him to live in. Never in his wildest dreams would he have believed that a dragon in this town would be so kind and friendly towards him, and now he had to leave her behind.

Teeba tried to force a smile as he rounded the tree and came back towards her so he could continue down her driveway. A voice in her mind begged her to get in the way of his truck and force him to stay, but she remained rooted in place. As close of a friend as he was, he had his own road to travel and she slowly lifted a wing as he drove past.

The sight of the taillights on his truck made her heart sink and she looked away to stop herself from crying, but instead saw the mess of cans from their evening together. The memory of holding him close while she slept made her inhale sharply, as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. The sound of gravel crunching under the tires of his car and the squeak of brakes made her head perk up and snap towards his direction, the tail lights illuminated in red as he stopped. The driver’s door opened and he stepped out, she could tell by his expression that he felt similar about leaving but felt her heart skip a beat as he gave her a weak smile.

“Fuck ’em.”

Luke and Teeba will return