FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Story and all characters (c) 2006-2007 Yancarlo Ramsey. Please do not redistribute without written permission.

This is a work of adult fiction. If you get caught reading it, don't blame me.

• 4 -

I returned home that afternoon, and the rest of that day I spent in my lair, doing a lot of thinking. The next day I spent in the archives, looking up all the most reliable information I could find on humans and their culture. I'd requested the assistance of one of the higher ranking archivists, but I didn't want to give the real reason why I needed the help, and since I couldn't come up with a good excuse, I ended up with one of the younger junior archivists. One who didn't have as much experience with the material stored there. Especially with that concerning humans. It made the search more difficult, which was frustrating, as my impatience had only grown stronger since meeting Adrian. I wanted to know these things now, not next week or next month... But the search did take most of the day. Even the indexes for the archives are enormous.

The stack of books I ended up bringing back to my lair wasn't very tall. I placed them in a basket and hooked it over my neck for the walk back, and when I arrived, brought them out again to study them more thoroughly. But after finding most of them to contradict each other blatantly on several points, I grew frustrated, and nearly gave up, simply skimming through the others. I'm glad I did check them, though, because one of them turned out to be somewhat different.

There was one old volume which referenced many older, even more obscure works, and yet had not been referenced at all by any works that came after it. The ideas expressed in it were radical, and perhaps unrealistic, and the author was likely thought of as a fool. But even if the views were highly unpopular, to someone approaching it with an open mind - or at least trying to - rather than a fixed bias against humans, this volume was a treasure trove of information that seemed to be based on something much closer to fact than any of the others had been.

Eventually my tiredness overcame my desire to continue reading, and I set the musty books aside, went to my sleeping pit, curled up, and quickly fell into slumber. When I finally awoke, I knew it was well into the day. Though I was beginning to feel hungry, I also knew I should wait another day at least, if I didn't want to end up feeling bloated instead. Still, some exercise would do me good, and so I departed my lair, winding my way through the caverns and out into the light, passing a few others going about their business along my way. After giving my eyes a moment to adjust and breathing in a few good lungfuls of the fresh scented air, I unfurled my wings and launched myself off the cliff, diving to pick up speed and then working my wings to climb high into the sky.

As I flew higher and farther, up through where the clouds tickled my wings with condensation and cooled my warming body, my thoughts returned to Adrian... to all humans... and I wondered. I wondered at those small earthbound creatures, remembering my earliest days when I had not yet possessed the strength or skill needed to take to the air. I wondered what it would be like to never have flown. I became sad. And then I did a barrel roll, followed by a loop which ended with a steep dive, taking me far down toward the trees below. I rolled as I dove, and then pulled up sharply, coming out of the descent at a right-angle course to my previous one, winging my way toward Adrian's cave. For that was how I thought of it. Not the dragon's cave that Adrian now lived in, but his cave. I flew toward it, wondering... wondering if he would like to fly. Wondering what he would say. Wondering if he would be afraid. Wondering how I could possibly take him into the air without him falling...

Consumed in my thoughts, I was startled when I realized I had arrived, and had nearly passed the cave. Sweeping into a tight turn, I spiraled down, coming back around to the small clearing near the entrance. Slowing, I pulled up and backwinged directly over the clearing, stalling out and dropping, wings cupped to slow my descent. I landed on my hind feet, still hard enough to cause the nearby trees to shudder, their leaves rustling as if from a sudden light breeze. My forefeet came down more gently, and I folded my wings to my back and stepped toward the cave, my head lowering to peer inside.

He was there, coming out to meet me, having felt my landing. I stopped just outside the cave and let him come to me.

He stopped a few feet from my head, looking up with concern. "Dorani? I wasn't expecting you today. Is there a problem?"

I spoke softly, knowing that in my excitement I had to be careful to control my voice lest it overwhelm him. "No. In truth, I had an idea, and I couldn't wait to share it with you."

He grinned up at me, and brushed his hair back away from his face. "Oh? Then by all means, share it!"

I brought my head down close in front of him. My snout alone was nearly as big as his torso, and my eyes that looked into his were nearly as large as his head. "Adrian... Have you ever wanted to fly?" I asked, my nose barely a foot from his chest, my breath washing across him and causing his clothing to flutter slightly.

"To fly...?" His eyes widened, and he reached out to touch my scaly nose, stroking his fingertips across my smooth scales. I could feel the light pressure of his touch, of course, but little more. Scales are not very sensitive, as I have since learned.

Once again I paid no attention to his odd scent. "Yes," I replied, bringing to mind my earliest memories of flight and for a moment reliving them. "To fly through the air... To look down upon the world from high above... To catch the air with your powerful wings and feel it surrounding you as it slips past your scales..."

The irony that I was saying these things to a wingless, scaleless being didn't occur to me until after he replied. "But I have no wings, Dorani..."

"This is true, sadly... But I have them. And... perhaps I might take you into the air with me?"

He gasped, and stepped back, his eyes rapidly examining me as if for the first time. "Take me... with you?"

"Yes!" My enthusiasm finally got the better of me, and I had to make a conscious effort to lower my voice again. "I would carry you into the sky, so that you might experience it as well... I remember the first time I flew... It was so exhilarating."

He stood there and looked at me, shaking his head slightly in wonder. "Nualadorani... Since the first day I met you I have dreamed of flying through the air by your side. But since I cannot do that... being carried by you would be... such an honor."

I had this strange urge to lick him, as if he were a hatchling, despite his ugliness and odd scent, but I refrained from doing so. I did let my mouth open slightly in a grin, though. "Excellent!" I stepped forward, arching my neck to keep my head approximately where it was, and reached out toward him with my right forefoot. "Hold still..."

Seeing that I was trying to literally pick him up and carry him, his eyes widened slightly. "Wait... Wouldn't it be better if I rode atop your back?"

I hesitated, and put my foot down, tilting my head a little. "But the wind... Wouldn't you fall off?"

"If I did fall, couldn't you catch me? Besides, I think I know a way to solve that problem. Would you come inside?" He gestured back into the cave behind him.

I followed him inside, considering. "I could try... But I've never had to catch something without damaging it before."

"Hopefully you'll never have to. - If I tie one end of a... [a rope] around my waist, and the other end around your neck, even if I fell off your back, I wouldn't be in any danger..."

"I see... That sounds like a good idea. Do you have a rope which would work?" I replied, using the equivalent Draconic word, knowing that he would notice the substitution.

"I think so. I'll have to find out if it's long enough..." He started digging through a box near one wall, and I stopped to hover my head above him and look down into it. Then he pulled out a large coil of rope. "Aha! Here it is." He stood, nearly bumping into my chin, but I pulled my head back in time.

"What should I do?" I asked, looking curiously at him.

"Well," he considered, looking me over for a moment, "if you lie down so I can reach your neck, I can throw it over and then tie it..."

I did so, lowering myself to the floor and lifting my head to look back and watch. Adrian held one end of the rope, uncoiled some of it, and then threw the rest of the coil up and over my shoulders. Then he walked across in front of me to collect the other end, and I turned my head to follow him. He slid the rope up to the base of my neck, though it caught briefly on my scales several times and had to be freed by shaking it to send a ripple along the line. Then he pulled the loop tight and tied the free end to the longer portion.

"How's that? Not too tight, is it?"

I could feel a slight pressure from it, but nothing uncomfortable. "It's not."

"Good. Now... Let me see if I can climb up..." He took hold of the loop of rope and tried to climb it, but it slipped across my scales, rotating around my neck and dropping him back to the floor. "Hmm, that's no good..."

"Stand on my foot," I said, and raised my right forefoot, turning it over to cup the palm where he could step onto it.

"Ah... Thank you, that should work," he replied, stepping up without hesitation.

I lifted him slowly, carefully, until his feet were halfway up my shoulders and he could reach out and touch the top of my neck. He leaned forward and hooked his arms over, and I gave him one last little push as he swung his left leg up onto my back. Once there, he straightened up and slid forward until he was straddling the base of my neck, his feet curling in slightly under it to help hold him in place.

"Whew! Made it. Now, I just tie this around myself..." And he proceeded to do so, looping the rope around his waist and tying it off securely, leaving a length of it between us.

"Done?" I asked as he tested the knot.

"[Yep], all set. You know, this is actually fairly comfortable... I can hold onto the loop here," he tugged slightly at the loop of rope around my neck, "and my legs fit around your neck quite easily..."

"That is fortuitous, is it not?" I grinned my toothy draconic grin and stood up, turning and making for the outside.

"Fortuitous? Yes, if that means what I think it does." He patted my neck. I could feel his hand thump softly against my scales, though just barely.

"A beneficial occurrence, a fact or event which makes something easier."

"Ahh, yes. Thank you, Dorani."

I came out into the early afternoon sunlight, bobbing my head slightly. "Of course, Adrian." I moved to the center of the clearing and crouched there, unfurling my wings. "Ready yourself..."

He gripped the rope tightly and squeezed my neck between his knees, though I barely felt the pressure. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's go!"

I reared up and leapt into the air, bringing my wings up and then down again forcefully, sending us shooting up off the ground. I heard Adrian gasp. With several rapid downstrokes, I was far above the treetops, and began to level out and pick up forward speed. Then he let out a whoop, and I nearly faltered in my flight. "Adrian? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dorani! - This is incredible!" he called back, almost shouting.

Pleased, I began to climb again, picking up altitude easily as my speed increased further. Barely noticing the presence of my passenger, I delighted once again in the freedom and raw power of my wings. There's a reason why females have so much larger chests than males - they need the extra muscles. In mating, their wings must be strong enough to at least maintain a glide while supporting the weight of the male clinging to them. And while carrying a clutch of unlaid eggs in her belly, a female must still be able to fly.

I remained aloft for over an hour, even performing a few dives and a barrel roll to show off. He seemed to be enjoying the flight a great deal, but eventually he complained of the wind making him cold, and I turned to head back to his cave.

Inside, we talked for a few hours as he warmed up by the fire, which I once again helped to light, until the sun was near setting. And then I took my leave, promising to return again in two days. I would likely need to hunt tomorrow, and it would take most of the day to fly far enough to find suitable prey, to catch and eat a large beast or several smaller creatures, and then to fly home with my belly full. I would likely sleep well into the next day while the meal digested, as well.

Back at my lair, I read from the one useful book again for several hours, and finally curled up to sleep.