Convicts - Part 7
#8 of Convicts
Note: The following story begins with such a massive time-lapse that the space-time continuum has shattered into a thousand pieces. Enjoy being your own grandfather/mother. It is also short, as I think it's time for Convicts to come to a close.
Warning: There is a very brief scene of M/M and M/solo sex, but the most disturbing part is in the end, where there is some hard vore. Normally, I wouldn't consider writing hard vore, but the culture I have designed demands it, so I must abide by that.
*Spoiler Alert* This is the last part, in case that wasn't made painfully clear.
"Jack, are you awake?" Drake asked, rubbing his flank up against the human next to him. The skin on Jack's side seemed to cling to his scales, pulling unnaturally away from Jack's body until they finally snapped back against his side with a wet slap.
"Mmm, yeah," he replied, his voice a bit raspier than it he remembered. He cleared his throat loudly, but it didn't feel any clearer. With a sigh, he opened his eyes, and stared up towards the full moon that hung above them. It shone brilliantly down upon their nest through the hole in their ceiling. And while the ceiling was certainly a little rougher from all the erosion it had gone through over the years, it was still in one piece. The darkness was starting to get to him a bit though. Having Drake their helped, but every night, the darkness seemed to get a little more eerie.
"Jack, I feel really needy tonight," Drake said. "Can you help me?"
"Don't you remember what happened last time?" Jack groaned, but sat up anyway. It was getting harder to do every time. His bones were getting stiffer and stiffer, especially in this damp, humid climate.
"We'll be more careful this time," Drake replied, nuzzling up against his chest and making his skin bunch again. "And besides, I'll help you, too."
"We've gone over that," Jack replied irritably. "I just can't get it up anymore. I have ED."
Drake made a barely-visible pouting face in the darkness. "That's a stupid disorder," he complained. "What kind of creature stops being able to have sex?"
"This one," Jack replied. "Now roll over, and let me take a look at you,"
Drake licked the side of his face affectionately, and then rolled onto his side to display his belly for his lover. Even in the darkness, Jack could still make out the jet black phallus hanging before him. It was so warm, ridged, and as full of vitality as it had been years ago. Reaching out slowly, he gripped at the firm base, squeezed it once enviously, and then began to stroke it up and down.
"I think you're starting to get a little wrinkled yourself," Jack said teasingly.
"Dragons don't get wrinkly, Jack," Drake replied. "But your wrinkles do make this feel a little better than normal."
Jack chuckled despite himself. He loved Drake very much, but seeing the dragon the same way he'd been all those years ago made him feel weak, and even a little jealous. With a poorly-hidden frown, he shifted his body to lie on his side so he could begin to use his other hand. But halfway through his turn, he heard something pop, and a searing pain shot up his spine. With a gasp and a grimace, he dropped back onto his back, both hands dropping to the small of his back.
"Damn it, my back," he groaned. "Oh Drake, how old am I?"
"Jack," Drake began sympathetically. The dragon shuffled up against his side, providing him the feeling of safety despite the pain roaring through him. And despite everything, he could feel the stiff member lying against his leg. "I'm sorry, Jack. I shouldn't have asked you to do that."
"No, it's not your fault," he sighed. "I should've known not to move that way. It's just, when we do this, it makes me feel like I did years ago. I sometimes forget about how old I am. It makes me remember that we haven't had good sex in nearly ten years. I just can't handle you anymore. I feel so worthless, with you doing everything for me, and I can't even repay you."
"Jack, you don't have to repay me. Don't ever think that the sex was what this was about. I love you. You're not just some hole that I can use whenever I want to."
The sentiment made Jack smile, and he managed to pull his left hand from his back in order to rub Drake's snout affectionately. "Thanks, Drake."
"It's because I love you, that I'm going to go outside," Drake replied, and stood up slowly. Without the dragon beside him, Jack suddenly felt very cold and alone, and reached towards him in an effort to will him back. "I need to finish this, and I don't want you to see me doing it myself."
"No, stay here," Jack said with a shake of his head. "I don't want you to leave me."
"Are you sure?" Drake asked, to which Jack nodded. Hesitantly, Drake lowered himself back down into the nest, with his back pressed against the opposite wall, and curled his head in towards his stomach. It was hard for Jack to make out what was happening, but he felt a pang in his heart when he began to hear a squelching sound. It got louder as each minute passed, and soon moans of pleasure were added to the mix. Jack was almost in tears by the time the squelches grew to their loudest, and then stopped. Jack could here Drake's lips smacking, and a single swallow, before the dragon was around him, wrapping him in a gentle but tight embrace. "I'm so sorry, Jack."
"It's okay, Drake," Jack replied, but he didn't sound very convincing, even to himself.
"No, I won't do that again," Drake replied sternly. "It's not fair to you."
"Drake, just because I can't climax anymore, doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to," Jack said. "I don't know how long dragons live, so you should make use of the time you have left."
"Don't talk about that, Jack," Drake replied. "We both still have plenty of time."
Jack managed a smile. "Okay then, I believe you," he said. "Now let's get some sleep."
Drake nodded, but he did not back out of his embrace. If anything, he held Jack tighter, as if to make sure that he was still there. Jack watched as the glowing red eye slowly disappeared behind his eyelid, and then began to drift off himself. Except, something felt different. He wanted to move his arms and legs, but couldn't seem to manage it. They felt so heavy, and numb. He couldn't feel the cushions beneath him, and the feeling of Drake's heat was beginning to fade. He felt a sense of finality to this night, and decided to embrace it. The resistance he put on his heavy eyelids was removed, and he fell asleep.
****
"Jack? Wake up, Jack. Jack!"
****
"Drake? What happened? You missed mating season." Vera said as Drake landed heavily on the stone platform. It was early in the afternoon, and the sun shone straight into the main shaft of the dragon's mountain, and down onto the bleached bones below. He couldn't help but turn back to look upon them. "Drake, say something."
"I need to speak with Farek," he said.
"Drake, Farek died a few months back," Vera replied. "Sage replaced him as head of the council."
"Then I need to speak with him," Drake corrected.
"What is it, Drake?" Vera asked.
Drake simply stared back at her with a blank, stony expression.
"Where is Jack?"
The shield that held back his emotions suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces. He didn't say anything, but tears began to gush relentlessly from his eyes, and the oil on his scales deepened with a dark shade of blue. He could no longer hold in his sadness, and he reached around with a shaky head to pull the ridged body of Jack from his shoulders. He laid him down gentle on the cool floor.
"Oh my god, Drake," Vera said, her own scales flashing white with shock. "I'm so sorry,"
"Where's Sage?" Drake repeated through his sobbing.
"You want to have Jack buried here?" Vera asked.
Drake nodded.
"You know what that means though, right?" Vera asked. "Can you really eat a part of your best friend and love?"
The flow of Drake's tears increased, but he nodded again.
"Okay, Sage is up top, in the council chamber. Everyone's up there for the breeding results."
Drake nodded, and picked up Jack's body to put it back on his back. It was difficult to get him to sit right, like he had done willing when he was alive, but he managed to do it without even scratching him. He turned away from Vera and took off, but not with his usual vigor. It was slow, groggy, as if he was being weighed down by boulders. And in truth, he was, but not the kind made of stone.
He landed heavily on the uppermost platform of the shaft and made his way forward, passing between the two immense dragon statues that flanked the doorway. He wished that he trade places with one, so that he wouldn't have to feel the pain, and didn't have to participate in Jack's funeral. But, he loved Jack with all his heart, so he would bear through the pain so that Jack didn't have to feel any more.
He stepped through over the threshold and into the council chamber, which was now filled with dragons. It was at about half its capacity, but it still looked crowded in comparison to how it had been all those years ago. What was once six dragons lazing about, was now almost a hundred. It had been a remarkable recovery for a species, but as long as food remained plentiful and breeding rates were high, they could be back at full strength in less than twenty years. And what had once been a single councilman had grown to a full council of five, and that was only the beginning. As the population rose, so to would the number of members on the council.
"Drake, it's good to see you, albeit later than usual," Sage said as he stepped within the ring of dragons. "Why don't you take a seat?"
Drake shook his head slowly, and managed to pick up some rising keen that rose from the crowd behind him. Surely, the people behind him could see how lifeless Jack's body was. And Jack had been close with very nearly every dragon here.
"Drake, what has happened?" Cenith asked, who sat the forth council seat now.
"Councilmen, we have lost a brother," Drake answered, his voice strong despite his crumbling resolve. He reached around and once again lay Jack's body down on the floor in the center of the room. Those who had looked confused from the other's reactions soon joined into the keen, or simply lay with a look of shock freezing them. Even Sage, who had always managed to remain calm and clear in the midst of tragedy, allowed a frown to crease his lips.
"Indeed we have," he replied. "The funeral will begin immediately. Will everyone rise?" The dragons rose from their seats and stood with their heads hung low. The once shrill keen dropped to an unnatural silence as the five councilmen stood and made their way forward. They stood in a line a few feet from where Jack lay, and Sage took one step forward.
"A brother has fallen today," he began, his voice powerful but somber. "And even though Jack is a human, he has more than earned that title. Jack was our advocate, without whom we may not even exist. But he was much more than that, he was our cherished friend. He was a person that we never believed we'd have to live without. But sadly, the day is upon us where we must put this man to rest. May he join together with us, the way our fallen brothers of yesterday joined with us. Drake, since he was your closest friend, and your love, would you take the first bite?"
Drake wanted nothing more than to run away and leave his pain right there, but he nodded regardless. He had to do this, for Jack. With a heavy step, he came up beside his body. His corpse. For a long moment he stared down on him, hoping beyond hope that he would suddenly open his eyes and sit up, as if he had only been sleeping all this time. But he did not breath, and his heart did not beat. He was dead, and that was the end of it. Drake lowered his muzzle down to Jack's cold thigh, and rested his lips upon it. It felt so cold and rubbery, like the fat from one of the human's cattle. He closed his eyes, not ever wanting to see his love's mutilated body, as his teeth came forward and sung into his skin. He did not dare pull on the flesh, and waited in agony for his teeth to completely sever the piece. A cold, soupy liquid oozed out onto his lips, what he assumed was blood. Tears began to escape from his clenched eyelids again, dripping ceaselessly. Finally, he felt one last connection sever, and his teeth met. His tongue tentatively reached forward and wormed its way beneath the chunk of flesh as it began to carry it to the back of his maw. It was meat was tasteless, but the mixture of Jack's blood and his tears left an acrid taste flooding his taste buds.
It felt so wrong, eating his friend like this. Was this really how they were supposed to honor their dead? By eating them. But Drake already knew the answer. Yes, it was. Because if they didn't the flesh would rot and spoil, and so would their soul. They ate meat of the dead to not only dispose of it properly, but so that a part of the soul would join with them, and they would be together forever. Whether or not Drake believed in the spiritual stuff or not didn't really matter. The one thing he didn't want to see more than his friend being eaten, was seeing his friend rotting. So, with a final burst of resolve, he quelled his urge to retch and swallowed. And as the meat disappeared down his throat, he felt a little bit better. Jack would've wanted to be with him forever, even if it meant this. Drake lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking up at the sun that shone down into the room.
"Drake, your part here is finished," Sage whispered. "If you wish, I can have someone retrieve you when this part is finished."
Drake sniffled, trying to hold back his tears, but ultimately failed. He nodded, and turned to leave, keeping his head high so that he would never see the hole in his friend's leg. When he reached the edge of the platform, he dove freely from it, but his wings felt heavy. It took a few extra seconds to open them, and while he plummeted down towards the bones below, he wondered whether he wanted to be down there with them.
****
"Drake, they're ready for you,"
"What do you mean?"
"The council believes that you should carry the body."
****
"Drake, how are you doing?" Jack asked, coming up beside him as they stood on the council chamber's platform.
"What are you doing up here?" Drake asked, abandoning the original question. He had no answer for it anyway.
"I'm your left wing." Jack replied. "I'm going down with you."
"Oh," Drake replied. Of course that's what he was there for. How could he have been so stupid? He guessed that it was because Jack was so small, he believed that they'd let him do it himself. It took three dragons to carry another dragon, but definitely not a human. Especially when it was only a human skeleton, picked completely clean. "Is there a right wing, too?"
"Yeah, Vera is flying it." Jack replied. "She should be here any minute."
"Is Sage going to say anything?" Drake asked.
"You know how these things work, Drake," Jack replied. "There's nothing left to be said, as soon as Vera gets here, we'll get into position and take him down."
"Oh, I just thought...you know..." Drake began.
"It is different Drake. More than you know," Jack replied. "Sage gave us a center spot."
"A center spot," Drake repeated.
"You know how special those are," Jack replied. "Only real heroes go in the center."
Drake nodded. He would've cried again, but he was all out of tears. Suddenly, Vera appeared on his right side. She gave him a brave smile as she moved around to Jack's right and picked him up slowly in one hand. Jack soon followed her lead, reaching out to support his left side. And finally, after an encouraging nod from both of them, Drake held Jack's head up. Their wings unfurled in unison, and their first beat sent all three of them upward. They held themselves upright as they flew, which was always an awkward position to fly in. But with prefect precision and teamwork, they managed to maneuver themselves into the center of the shaft, and began to slowly descend. As they passed each platform, the five or six dragons standing on it would bow their heads. Drake was stunned by their admiration of the man. Even though he had been there every day, watching him befriend each and every dragon there, he never thought that they held him in the same regard that he did. It cut through the crushing depression like nothing else before, and for the first time, he didn't feel sad about Jack's funeral. He felt honored, and glad, to be a part of the ceremony, and to put him to rest along with all the other dragons. One day, Drake could join him wherever he was now, but that would come later. Jack would've wanted him to live for both of them. They passed by the final platform, and saw all of his children there, and not just the ones from his first clutch, but from his second and third as well. All nineteen of them, huddled together on the much too small platform, and bowed their heads and Jack passed. It was a sight to see.
Suddenly, Drake felt something solid beneath him, and let his wings fall against his back as the three of them set down on the bones of their friends and family. And though they had stopped, Jack body continued to descend, until the only thing between it and the other bones were the hands of the three dragons around him. One at a time, their hands left the man's body. First Vera, and then Jack. Drake was the last one to pull his hands away, but as soon as he did, and his friend's skull touched the bones below, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. They were both at peace.