FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Story and all characters (c) 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.

• 11 -

Adrian's golden-scaled form plummeted toward the ground, with me in close pursuit. He struck hard, with a loud crunch of gravel. After skidding more than a full body's length, and just barely managing to avoid rolling onto his side and doing even more damage to his injured wing, he finally came to rest. I landed next to him moments later, sending a shower of rocks past him as my feet slid a few paces. I had taken the landing much harder than I usually did, but this was an emergency, and I was in a hurry... and was not being very mindful of my own safety, to be honest.

"Adrian! Adrian? Answer me, please...!" I cried out desperately as I approached him. At first, when I looked down at his body to see how badly he was hurt, I nearly panicked - he didn't appear to be breathing! But a moment later he shuddered and gasped, and I nearly collapsed in relief just from the fact that he was alive. For a moment I'd feared the worst, and I still find it shameful that my first despairing thought was that I might have to find a way to explain his death to the others. I should have known better, of course. Dragons do not die that easily.

Adrian groaned. It seemed like the sweetest sound he'd ever made, and I nearly collapsed in relief. He took a deep breath, winced, then flexed his long neck and lifted his head slightly. His eyes opened slowly, and after a few moments they came into focus, blinked, and looked at me.

"I think... next time... I'll practice landing FIRST..." he said quietly. And despite the pain evident in his expression, there was a trace of a wry smile in the way the corners of his mouth quirked upward.

If I'd been human then, I would have burst into tears and hugged him, both out of joy and sorrow. Joy that he was alive; sorrow that he was nonetheless injured, and through my own negligence, I felt. "Oh, Adrian... I'm so sorry! I forgot to warn you... I didn't think... I'm so stupid!"

"Don't... say that, Nuala. You were not at fault. Our minds... were on other things. I should... have known better... myself." He seemed to be regaining strength, and I realized that he had most likely been stunned by the impact more than he was actually injured by it. Oh, I was certain he'd have bruises and plenty of sore spots - not even counting his wing, that is. But aside from that, it was beginning to look like the crash landing itself hadn't done any serious damage.

"That may be. But I still should have told you... Given you the warnings any hatchling is given before their first flights... I..." I fell silent for a moment, my eyes settling on his back, where one wing was still outstretched and limp. "Does your wing hurt very much?" I finally asked, looking him in the eye again. I would have plenty of time to blame myself later. Right then, there were more important things to deal with.

Adrian winced again, and nodded slowly. "It does... but I think I can move." He gathered his feet under him and started to push himself up.

"No, wait! You might..." He groaned and settled to the ground again. "... make it worse. Let me look at it, Adrian."

"... Yes, I... suppose that would be a good idea. - It's the shoulder... I hope it's not broken. I don't think it is, but..."

I circled around him as he spoke, moving to his side and leaning in to inspect the shoulder joint. Lifting one foreleg and reaching out with that hand, I carefully ran my fingers across his scales, probing gently. Adrian winced several times, and hissed when I pressed lightly on certain places.

"You're right, it's not broken. But it's definitely not in its proper place. I'm afraid getting it back in is going to hurt almost as much as injuring it did..."

He had turned his head to watch with one eye, and looked up at me. "You can do that?" he asked. And when I nodded, he closed his eyes and laid his head down again.

"Yes, basic first aid is something everyone studies, at least a little. If only out of self-interest. Accidents happen, and not knowing how to deal with them can make an injury much worse..." As I spoke, I shifted my position, rearing up on my haunches, balanced by the weight of my tail and my wings outstretched behind me, and took careful hold of his wing near the main joint. I hesitated a moment, and then added, "When you're ready... roll away from me as I pull."

"Okay. [Here goes nothing...]" he mumbled as he braced himself. I saw and felt him begin to move, shifting his weight to his other side... and I pulled as hard as I could. Suddenly there was a loud 'pop', a sound that made me wince in sympathy. Adrian cried out, his pain echoing back at us from the cave's entrance, and then he went limp, breathing heavily. I quickly inspected his shoulder, fearing that it might not have worked properly, but there was no need. It looked much more naturally aligned now, though perhaps a little swollen. I decided it should mend properly, in time, and I sighed in relief.

"Good. Now fold your wing, carefully... Leaving it stretched out like that won't help the joint heal up," I told him. He clenched his jaws as I helped him reposition it, and looked relieved when it was accomplished without causing any additional pain.

I stood there, studying him, uncertain of what to do next. I felt that I needed to be doing something, even though I knew there really wasn't much more I could do, at the moment. It was not unlike the sort of restlessness I have always felt, but...

"Nuala, sit down," Adrian finally said, eyeing me with a faint smile. I did so, though not without an effort of will. "Talk to me," he said. But what could I say? When he saw my uncomprehending look, he continued, "I don't think I'll want to move for a while, and this is as good a spot as any to lie here and rest... And, while resting is all well and good, I could use something to distract me from this... discomfort."

I looked away for a moment, still embarrassed by my 'failure'. "And don't you start that again, Nualadorani. You hear me?" I turned toward him again, startled by his stern voice. "I won't have you blaming yourself like that. We both messed up, and we both know it, so there's no need to dwell on it. So put it behind you."

I nodded slowly, humbled by his words of wisdom. Not so long ago, I would have laughed at such a thought. A human? Wise? Much less instructing a Dragon on such matters? And yet, he wasn't exactly human right now, was he? At least, not on the outside. But that only went to show me how foolish such things were. It was still him, still Adrian, no matter what his outer form. Perhaps there were foolish humans... Perhaps very many of them. But could I honestly say that no dragon had ever been foolish? Of course not. "As you say, Adrian," I replied, smiling to myself.

"That's better." He smiled as well, with a wry expression, and after a moment he laughed. Then I did as well.

"So," I began, once we had both fallen silent for a few moments. "What would you like to talk about?"

He almost shrugged, but thought better of it. "I'm not sure. Perhaps... you could tell me more about your life? Your family?"

These were things which had been touched on in previous conversations. But I had always done my best to change the subject at first opportunity. I looked him in the eyes, and what I saw there told me that he had been well aware of my evasions.

As I hesitated, he went on. "I know they are sensitive subjects, although I'm not certain why. But I would like to know..."

"They're not exactly 'sensitive'." I nearly interrupted him, but he had hesitated just long enough, and I didn't want him to have the wrong impression. "I'm just not on very good terms with my parents."

"I see," he said quietly. "Is it a mutual dislike?"

"Well... It's... I don't exactly dislike them. And they... No doubt they're still just as 'concerned' about me as always," I scoffed.

"Ahh... And that bothers you?"

"No, it..." I sighed heavily. "Yes, I suppose it does. Whenever they're around, I feel like a hatchling again. It's so irritating! I don't know how they do it, but I just can't stand feeling like that."

After a moment of quiet, Adrian asked, "Do you know what it is that they're 'concerned' about?" But I didn't respond for so long that he stirred and lifted his head. "Nuala...?"

"Yes. I know." I looked at his stunning, handsome, gorgeous golden features, wincing as I remembered his previously stated opinions regarding mine... He opened his mouth, but I spoke first. "You know what I think about my color."

Adrian nodded slightly. "I remember."

"Well, that's basically it." I twitched my wings in an imitation of a human shrug. "It's like my own opinion isn't important... Like it doesn't matter what I want. No, that's not quite right... They just can't understand why I don't agree with them. Nobody does. I'm too impulsive, too hasty, I don't think things through, and I'm not willing to accept that what others think about my appearance is 'what matters'... I just don't fit in. Everyone tries to 'help' me fit in, especially my parents, but I don't. And..." I broke off and turned up one of my forefeet, studying my claws.

"And?" he prompted gently.

I nibbled at the join between claw and toe for a moment, then inspected the result. "And... I don't really want to. I mean, I know I'm different... I don't really think quite like anyone else... And to fit in, I'd have to change. Or pretend to. I've tried. And pretending... Yeah, it makes everyone else happy..."

"But not you."

I closed my eyes. "But not me."

I heard movement. I sensed his lithe form moving closer to my stronger mass. And yet it was totally unexpected when I felt the ridge of his muzzle rubbing against my cheek, down my jaw, under my throat... It sent a thrill down my spine, and I had to stifle a gasp.

He pulled away suddenly. "I'm sorry," he started to say, but I interrupted.

"No. Don't apologize. Do that again." I opened my eyes and looked into his. "Please?"

I swear that if he'd still had his translucent human skin, he would have blushed a deep red. I could tell that he knew what the sort of caress he'd just given me was. He must have figured it out after the fact, perhaps by my reaction, or by the same instinct that had led him to touch me like that in the first place... But now he knew.

It was a just like a [kiss]. Not the kind he'd given me before, briefly pressing his lips against my scales in his excitement. It was like the sort of drawn out, sensuous [kiss] that human lovers would indulge in, their sensitive lips and tongues caressing each other... and not always on the mouth. But once again I am getting ahead of myself. What Adrian had done just then was something I had been familiar with for most of my life. Though it was the first time I myself had been touched like that, I had seen it many times, between my parents and between other couples.

Had he meant to do that? Had it been the same kind of sudden impulse as my subsequent request, the kind that is acted on without thought? Now that he was thinking about it, was he going to refuse? And now that I thought about it, wouldn't I prefer it if he did refuse? Wouldn't it be better that way? After all, he was still a human at heart, even if he was currently in the form of a dragon.

And such a beautiful drake... With such a beautiful heart.

I arched my neck slightly. He touched me again. I touched him in return. It felt wonderful. It felt right.

I remember wondering briefly if humans had anything like what we were doing - not mating, but so very pleasing... I asked him later, after we finished. He offered an astonishingly wide variety of words and phrases, from [kissing] to [making out].

We managed to avoid jostling his injured wing.